Blog: Navy Federal Credit Union Case Highlights Need to Lower Overdraft Fees

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the largest credit union in the United States to stop charging its customers illegal overdraft fees. Navy Federal Credit Union has been ordered to refund $80 million back to its customers, many of whom are active duty servicemembers, veterans, and Department of Defense civilian employees. Additionally, the credit union must pay a $15 million penalty to the agency’s victims relief fund. 

IN THE NEWS: Trump eyes pro-crypto candidates for key federal financial agencies (The Washington Post)

“It means that people are going to be more vulnerable to an industry that is rife with fraud, abuse, market manipulation and cyber-breaches,” said Patrick Woodall, the managing director for policy at Americans for Financial Reform, which advocates for stronger financial regulations. “This is an industry that is extremely volatile, where people take big losses, where market manipulation by insiders is very prevalent.”

Cryptocurrency

Event: Webinar on Crypto Companies’ Unprecedented Election Spending

On October 24, 2024, Americans for Financial Reform (w/ Demand Progress) partnered with Public Citizen to host a webinar entitled “Crypto Companies’ Unprecedented Election Spending.” The webinar featured commentary and analysis from experts and policy makers regarding the outsized spending by crypto billionaires and firms in this year’s election cycle, and the impact such spending has or may have on policy making and consumer financial protection.

Blog: A Crypto Coup? How Billionaires Are Threatening Democracy & Rewriting the Rulebook of American Politics

Crypto tycoons are storming into U.S. politics and attempting to reshape how we choose our elected officials. And the industry remains mostly controlled by a small group of very wealthy people even though fewer than one-sixth of people have ever owned any cryptocurrency. But crypto tycoons are pouring money into politics, aiming to bypass regulatory oversight, consolidate their power, and restructure American politics for their own benefit.

News Release: Labor, Advocates Push for Limits on Asset Manager Influence Over U.S. Banks

Today, 38 labor unions, investors, and advocates submitted a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in support of a proposed rule that would increase oversight of asset managers with substantial voting power in banks. The proposal would bolster FDIC oversight when asset managers gain control of over 10 percent of voting securities of bank holding companies with FDIC-supervised subsidiaries.

In The News: Senators take aim at big private equity landlords as rents soar (NBC News)

As landlords, private equity firms raise rents, impose new fees, skimp on property maintenance and pursue tenants more aggressively in court, the Americans for Financial Reform research noted. “The cumulative effect is a massive transfer of wealth from mainly low- and middle-income renters, who can’t afford the onerous barriers to homeownership, to some of the wealthiest men in America,” it said.

In The News: How Can We Reform Property Insurance to Adapt to Climate Change? (Shelterforce)

The climate threat is growing. So is the cost of protecting our homes from its damage. Two weeks ago, Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified in Florida, demonstrating the terrifying magnitude that climate change-fueled extreme weather events can reach. Across the country, the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires, hurricanes, and even thunderstorms will require a new approach to insuring homes and communities.